Urban planning education

Urban planning education is the practice of teaching and learning urban theory, studies, and professional practices. The interaction between public officials, professional planners and the public involves a continous education on planning process. Community members often serve on a city planning commission, council or board. As a result education outreach is effectively an ongoing cycle.

Since planning programs are usually small, they tend not to be housed in distinct "planning schools" but rather, as part of an architecture school, a design school, a geography department, or a public policy school, since these are cognate fields. Generally speaking, planning programs in architecture schools focus primarily on physical planning and design, while those in policy schools tend to focus on policy and administration.

Bachelor of Planning (B.Plan) is an undergraduate academic degree designed to train applicants in various aspects of designing, engineering, managing and resolving challenges related to urban human settlements. It is awarded for a course of study that lasts up to four years and contextual to modern challenges of urbanisation. It goes into the techniques and theories related to settlement design starting at the site planning level of a neighbourhood and moving up to the regional city planning context. Understanding relations between built forms and the citizens in cities and rural areas, and their implications on local environment, supporting utilities, transport networks, and physical infrastructure forms the core of the planning course. With an engineering orientation, the graduates emerging as urban planners are equipped with not only tools for rational comprehensive planning but also participatory and social development.

The degree may be awarded as a Bachelor of Arts in Geography with an emphasis in urban planning, Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning, or Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning. The distinction reflects university policies, or some universities may have greater course offerings in urban planning, design, sociology, or a related degree.

The Master of Urban Planning (MUP) is a two-year academic/professional master's degree that qualifies graduates to work as urban planners. Some schools offer the degree as a Master of City Planning (MCP), Master of Community Planning, Master of Regional Planning (MRP), Master of Town Planning (MTP), Master of Planning (MPlan), Master of Environmental Planning (MEP) or in some combination of the aforementioned (e.g., Master of Urban and Regional Planning), depending on the program's specific focus. Some schools offer a Master of Arts or Master of Science in planning. Regardless of the name, the degree remains generally the same.

A thesis, final project or capstone project is usually required to graduate. Additionally, an internship component is almost always mandatory due to the high value placed on work experience by prospective employers in the field.

Like most professional Master's degree programs, the MUP is a terminal degree. However, some graduates choose to continue on to doctoral studies in urban planning or cognate fields. The PhD is a research degree, as opposed to the professional MUP, and thus focuses on training planners to engage in scholarly activity directed towards providing greater insight into the discipline and underlying issues related to urban development.

Accreditation is a system for recognizing educational institutions and professional programs affiliated with those institutions for a level of performance, integrity, and quality.[1] The Planning Accreditation Board is the sole accreditor of planning programs in the United States. The Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) accredits graduate and undergraduate planning programs in the United States and Canada.[2]

As of January 1, 2014, PAB accredits 15 undergraduate programs and 73 graduate programs in 77 North America Universities.

The Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) accredits university programs in North America leading to bachelors and masters degrees in planning. The accreditation process is based on standards approved by the PAB and its sponsoring organizations: the American Planning Association (APA); the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) (the professional planners’ institute within the American Planning Association); and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).[2]

Graduation from a PAB accredited program allows a graduate to sit for the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Certification Exam earlier in their career than a student with a degree from a non-accredited program or school.

Programs that desire accreditation through the PAB must apply for candidacy status. The program seeking candidacy must demonstrate that they meet the five preconditions to accreditation.[3] The five preconditions are:[4]

Program graduation of at least 25 students in the degree.

Program's parent institution must be accredited by an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Formal title of program and degree offered must include the term "Planning".

Undergraduate programs must offer 4 full-time years of study or equivalent, while graduate programs must be 2 full-time years of study or equivalent.

Program's primary goal is to educate students to become practicing planning professionals.

Once the preconditions have successfully been met by the program, the program must complete and submit a Self-Study Report.[5] Through the Self-Study Report, the program assesses their performance and compliance with PAB's accreditation standards. This report serves as the basis of review for the Planning Accreditation Board, along with a formal meeting with the Program Administrator at the Board meeting. [3]

If candidacy is awarded, the Planning Accreditation Board will send a three member team to visit and formally review the program during a semester. The three member team will meet with faculty, staff, students, and members of the local planning community. The team will then submit a Site Visit Report to the Planning Accreditation Board. During the meeting of the Planning Accreditation Board, the board will review the Self-Study Report, Site Visit Report and other documentation and meet with the Program Administrator. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Board decides if the program is awarded accreditation and the length of accreditation.[3]

Accreditation length is dependent on the extent the program complies with requirements of the Planning Accreditation Board, with the maximum length awarded is 7 years.[6] Programs must re-apply for accreditation in the year their accreditation term expires.

Though Planning as a Profession is not a recognized profession under Indian law, the profession was started long back with School of Planning and Architecture in 1941 as a Department of Architecture of Delhi College of Engineering now the Delhi Technological University. It was later integrated with the School of Town and Country Planning which was established in 1955 by the Government of India to provide facilities for rural, urban and regional planning. On integration, the School was renamed as school of planning and architecture in 1959. Today it is one of the premier schools of pursuing planning studies at bachelor, masters and post doctorate levels. The Institute of Town Planners, India set up on the lines of the [Royal Town Planning Institute, London] is the body representing planning professionals in India. A small group formed itself into an Indian Board of Town Planners which after three years of continuous work formed the Institute of Town Planners, India. The Institute which was established in July 1951, Today, has a membership of over 2,800, apart from a sizable number of student members, many of whom have qualified Associateship Examination (AITP) conducted by ITPI. Institutes under ITPI offers a 4 year undergraduate degree in Planning.

While there is no official ranking of the graduate programs for planning, planning-community site Planetizen and college guide Best Colleges publish periodic lists of the Top US planning graduate programs, and the AICP provides a listing of currently- and formerly-accredited programs sorted by proportion of recent graduates passing its certification exam. The Best Colleges and Planetizen top-ranked schools aren't all at the top of the exam pass-rate rankings, but the two guides broadly agree on which schools are best.